Indeed, since Carragher quit the most league games played in succession by a defender has been Skrtel with 38, which included two games at the start of the 2014-15 season.

However, that is very much the exception to the rule. Since Klopp took over last season, the best runs have been Sakho (10), Skrtel (8), Lovren (4) and Kolo Toure (3).

In particular, Lovren’s record reads like the hokey-cokey: in four-out one; in three-out three; in two-out one; in four-out two; in three-out one; in one-out one.

Opportunity knocks therefore for Matip, whom Klopp recommended should follow him from the Bundesliga, to bed down.

It has been a summer when the fees paid for defenders spiralled – £47m for John Stones, £32m to bring 29-year-old David Luiz back to Chelsea, and £30m for Eric Bailly – partly due to a scarcity of talent.

Should Matip tame Costa, it will all point towards Liverpool having saved themselves a small fortune.